kewame kenyatta

Councilman Kenyatta says his time on city council will end after his current term ends in 18 months.

He told the Detroit News he wanted to announce his departure early to give constituents plenty of time to come up with a new representative on council.

Kenyatta was first elected to Detroit City Council in 2005, and had also served as a Wayne County Commissioner, and as vice president of the Detroit Board of Education.

Kenyatta told the News his reasons for leaving were "the recent consent agreement with the state, a perceived lawlessness in the city and the feeling that he's accomplished all that he can as a council member."

"At this point in time, my contribution has come to its limit and end," Kenyatta said. "I think politics in the city of Detroit is no longer people oriented, people based. I'm also frustrated by a sense of lawlessness in the streets, a lack of direction.

"We need people without a political agenda to be committed to getting us back on track. I think that's where the remainder of time on this earth should be spent."

Kenyatta was one of four Detroit City Council members who voted against the consent agreement with the state, saying the agreement is equivalent to "the overseer returning to take control of the plantation."

Kenyatta told the News he would devote his time to motivational speaking and trying to repair "some of the social ills of the city," once he's out of office.

Asked if there was a book in his future about his time in Detroit politics, Kenyatta laughed and said, "Oh, I'm already working on that."